
Manzanita Roasting Company and Coffee House
Curator’s note
Weston trained as a chef and carries WSET 3 sommelier papers, Samantha ran marketing for a San Diego family winery, and the roastery the two of them opened sits on the grounds of Bernardo Winery. They buy small lots from farmers who grow organically without paying for the certificate and say flatly that they never will buy on one, which is firm talk from two people who came up in a business that runs on labels.
The coffee
Everything is roasted on the company's own Loring, California-made, which they credit with 80 percent less fuel than other roasters and with venting hot air instead of smoke. The Ethiopian on the shelf now is posted down to town and grower: a washed heirloom grown by Biru Bekele at Chito in Oromia, between 1,800 and 2,150 meters, dried twelve days, though no product page prints a roast date.
The room
The cafe holds the whole northwest corner of the ground floor of The Grand, the 1937 Ritz theater restored into an event venue around it, and the garage door rolls up with tables going out under the marquee. Inside there are green chairs put out for lounging, an automated sliding door, and seating tucked in beside columns and around corners: a country wine store crossed with a streamlined urban coffee shop.
The vibe
Photos
People
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